Chapter 376 375. Blast the truth!

It was the Hawks' turn to attack, and Joe Johnson continued to play one-on-one. This time, Zhang Yang judged the timing when Joe Johnson turned around and grabbed the ball, and pressed forward in time. Joe Johnson's jump was limited, and his forced fadeaway jump shot was insufficient and short!
The ball hit the front of the basket and bounced downward, and Brad Miller secured the defensive rebound.

Zhang Yang finally blocked it once! And it was a real interference, not because the opponent created the shooting opportunity but because he missed the shot!
Even the Hawks head coach Woodson was amazed at Zhang Yang's defensive talent and his visible improvement. After only a few rounds of defense, he was able to seize the flaws in Joe Johnson's offense.

When Zhang Yang fully develops and becomes stronger, with more defensive experience... Woodson couldn't even imagine it. The man he faced on the court more than 20 years ago appeared in his mind again.

This made me even more envious and jealous of Carlisle!

In the eyes of the owners of each team, Carlisle's coaching experience with the Pistons and Pacers was that of a bad luck guy;
In the eyes of the successful old coach, Carlisle is talented, but just unlucky. If possible, he should give him a hand and help him find solutions to any problems. Maybe he can help his offspring who will work in the basketball industry in the future.

In the eyes of the new generation of coaches of similar age, Carlisle couldn't be luckier. He was able to coach Ben Wallace in his first head coaching role. After being suddenly fired, he was able to coach the Pacers, who had an extremely good lineup.

Now, Carlisle has just been fired and has taken over the Bobcats, a team that has already won a championship and has a bright future with its three core players. How can Woodson not be envious and jealous of being able to coach a genius like Zhang Yang?
When he was a player, Wu Tu was more successful than Ka Tu, but when he became a coach, he was pinned to the ground and rubbed...

On the court, during the offense-defense transition, Zhang Yang continued to execute simple circling and off-ball screen runs.

Because of his difficult goal in the last round, Pierce and Horford completely gave up the idea of ​​"self-response" and focused on defending Zhang Yang.

Seeing that he had no chance to pass the ball, Zhang Yang decisively moved out of the three-point line. Without the ball, he took Pierce and Horford to a position far away from the three-second zone.

Under the basket, Pachulia moved in advance to block Okafor, Felton passed the ball to Brad Miller, Brad Miller received the ball and made a mid-range shot... The opportunity was good, but unfortunately the ball hit the rim and bounced out, and Joe Johnson returned to the basket to protect the defensive rebound.

But looking back, Pierce's solo shot in the paint was also missed due to the interference of Brad Miller!
He was too anxious. He wanted to seize the opportunity of the opponent's missed shot to narrow the score difference. If he had made one more fake move, he would have had better shooting conditions.

In the offense-defense transition, Zhang Yang continued his running position from the previous round, creating a mid-range shooting opportunity for Brad Miller. This time the big white bear did not miss, and he stepped to the baseline and made the shot from the free throw line!
21 to 10, the Bobcats' lead expanded to double digits!

Fortunately, Bibby turned around and made a step-back three-pointer against Felton, helping the Hawks narrow the gap to 8 points and enter the official timeout.

Joe Johnson and Pierce missed shots in two consecutive rounds and were a little impatient. Bibby's shot helped them calm down and regain their confidence.

During the regular season, the two of them could charge fearlessly in the front and take a lot of shots without worrying about their stamina because they had each other and could take turns;
You don’t have to worry about the critical moment because there is a cold-blooded white devil behind you!
After the official timeout, Joe Johnson and Pierce, who had calmed down, led the team to counterattack again. After the two played more calmly, the Hawks' offensive efficiency improved significantly, and they scored 16 points in the second half.

However, the Bobcats firmly withstood the Eagles' counterattack!
Zhang Yang ran out of what he thought was an opportunity, caught the ball and threw it, implementing the Bobcats' tactical concept for the night.

After he made that difficult goal, the Hawks players had to chase him and help defend him even tighter and harder, not giving him the chance to raise the ball to shoot, or even the chance to catch the ball.

Zhang Yang's containment ability has been further improved, which has helped the Bobcats' team offense. The most obvious thing is that Okafor has better space to move down the field.

By extension, Zhang Yang was being chased closely and defended fiercely. He couldn't catch the ball and went down to the wing, which also attracted the defensive attention of Joe Johnson who was defending Mike Miller on the sideline...

And he is happy to use his own threat to contain the opponent and create better opportunities for his teammates.

The main point guard Felton and the supporting Brad Miller can complete the task of organizing the offense more easily, and Hill and Millsap, who come on as substitutes, can also have a better passing environment.

As Zhang Yang received the ball in a high position, turned around and jumped to pass the ball into the inside, Pietrus, who came on as a substitute, received the ball and dunked, and the Bobcats' score in the second half of the quarter increased to 16 points.

After the first quarter, the Bobcats maintained an 8-point lead, leading the Hawks 37 to 29!
During the intermission, when the players returned to the bench to wipe their sweat and drink water, Vincent sighed to Carlisle: "The three outside stars of the Hawks are too fierce! I guessed that they would play well on offense, but it still exceeded my expectations."

Bibby scored 7 points in a single quarter, Pierce scored 6 points, and Joe Johnson scored 8 points. The three of them scored a total of 21 points in a single quarter!
Fortunately, their five starters also scored strongly. Zhang Yang played the entire first quarter, making 7 of 4 shots, including 1 of 0 from three-pointers, plus 1 of 1 from free throws, scoring a game-high 9 points, plus 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

奥卡福6分、费尔顿5分2助攻、布拉德-米勒4分2助攻、迈克-米勒5分。

The trio cannot beat the opposing trio. Zhang Yang can match up with the three brothers on the opposite side, but Felton and Okafor are still a little bit lacking in scoring ability. Bibby, who has the weakest scoring ability among the opposing trio, once had a season in which he averaged 21 points per game. Felton and Okafor can't average 20+ points per game even if they bleed.

But with two Millers, they can still surpass the opponent's starting lineup!
The real place to maintain the advantage is the substitute players.

Hill scored 4 points, Millsap scored 2 points and 1 assist, and Pietrus scored 2 points. The three did not fall behind after coming on the court and continued the offensive firepower of their starting teammates very well.

Carlisle responded: "It's hard to predict how a team at this stage will play. Our defensive system hasn't been built yet. It's too difficult to have targeted defense. It's better to have conventional defense."

Vincent: "Yes, I understand. Is this why you reduced the offensive tactics? Simplify the tactics, do more running to contain the opponent, reduce the number of passes, and speed up the shooting rhythm...

I didn't expect that they would use the entire team to defend Jack alone, blocking Jack outside the free throw line. Jack scored 4 points in the first 7 minutes and only 8 points in the next 9 minutes. However, we made good use of their defensive strategy, and 8 of the players on the court scored. "

Carlisle: "When playing against opponents like them, the simpler the better. If we use complicated tactics, we may not know what bold adjustments the opponent will make, which will cause our players to often face situations where they need to adapt independently. However, the actual situation is that they only need to simply pass the ball to create shooting opportunities."

There is a difficulty in this adjustment, which Carlisle is not easy to explain - when subtracting tactics, it is necessary to maintain the tactical framework to prevent some players from playing too many simple balls and forgetting how to coordinate tactics.

This sounds outrageous, but Carlisle has really seen many players like this. They get injured and miss a few games. When they return from injury, they seem to have forgotten all the tactics and have to play several bad games before they can find their feeling.

But as he spent more time in the basketball world, he became a head coach... he still couldn't figure it out.

But he chose to accept, adapt to and pay attention to this unchangeable situation instead of forcing it.

Vincent: "When you say that, it reminds me of the Lakers and the former Kings. Jackson and Adelman like to let the players lead the offense. It is difficult for players who are not strong enough or smart enough to survive in their hands."

Carlisle: "Jackson is okay. He doesn't have such high requirements for the main players. Vujacic can be their main substitute, and Fox, Walton and others can also serve as tactical cores. People have too many prejudices against him. Maybe it's jealousy. I am jealous too. He has coached Jordan, O'Neal, Kobe, Kidd, Garnett... In fact, he just needs a superstar.

Adelman's requirements for his players are really ridiculous, but if you put together a complete lineup for him, he can lead an invincible team..."

...

After some "behind-the-scenes choreography" from Adelman, Carlisle called the players together, adjusted the lineup, and stressed the need to be decisive in passing the ball and shooting.

After the intermission, the Bobcats continued to attack the Hawks.

The Eagles' counterattack became more and more fierce. From the field point of view, the Bobcats looked very passive, but from the score point of view, the Bobcats were very stable and maintained the score difference above 5 points.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Felton and Zhang Yang were both substituted for rest, and the combination of Jarrett Jack, Alan Anderson, Pietrus, Okafor and Muhammad came on the court.

In such a game, Jack played like a fish in water, showing his ability in chaos. Alan Anderson's long shot and the front three's rush and cut-in support were also very suitable for Jack's style of play.

After this lineup played for more than three minutes, Carlisle replaced Felton and Brad Miller one after another.

The Hawks players were slow to widen the gap, and as they saw the opposing team's starters coming back one by one, their originally firm mentality under Bibby's leadership gradually changed, which was reflected in the game, as they played more anxiously.

不过老鹰队三大球星确实强！山猫队在4分54秒时将分差拉开到了10分，打到8分13秒时，三大球星一通猛攻打出了一波12比7！

During this period, Joe Johnson and Bibby hit a three-pointer respectively. Joe Johnson missed the shot again, Horford tipped in and got two points, Pierce made a three-threat pull-up shot to get two points, and made a three-threat breakthrough to cause damage and got two free throws.

With Pierce making both free throws, the Hawks narrowed the gap from 10 points to 5 points in a little over three minutes, and the score was 58 to 63!

While Pierce was shooting free throws, Zhang Yang, who had rested for more than half a quarter, replaced Jarrett Jack, while Felton, Hill, Okafor and Brad Miller continued to play.

Carlisle tried his best to create longer rest time for Zhang Yang, and it was not the kind of intermittent rest, so as to maximize the effect of rest.

Playing against the Hawks team that had Bibby, Joe Johnson and Pierce, the second half, especially the third quarter, was very important when they were sure that they could not defeat the opponent all at once. Zhang Yang was undoubtedly the key to the third quarter for the Bobcats and was the only player whose scoring ability was stronger than the three opposing stars.

This rotation strategy had already been determined during the preparation meeting. Zhang Yang did not get impatient even though the score was close and the gap was narrowed. He patiently recovered his strength on the sidelines, waving the towel, waiting to give his full performance after entering the court.

But Carlisle still has a temporary little plan, and he thinks it should succeed...

It was the Bobcats' turn to attack. Zhang Yang, who had rested for a long time, was ready to play one-on-one to get a feel for the game, but as soon as he received the ball, he was challenged by Pierce, regardless of whether he would be passed by him or not.

Zhang Yang did not hesitate. Despite his height disadvantage, he recovered and took a step towards the basket, changed direction, broke through Pierce and entered the inside... where he was trapped by three people.

With Horford in front, Bibby on the wing, and Pierce behind him, it would be possible to force Bibby out of the way and go to the basket, but Pachulia had already moved into position.

Before the encirclement got close, Zhang Yang quickly threw the ball to Okafor who was two points away on the right sideline.

This distance was beyond Okafor's shooting range, and he couldn't pass the ball to Hill who was out of position on the other side. On Felton's side at the right baseline, Bibby went back but couldn't pass the ball either, so he passed the ball to Brad Miller who was outside the top arc.

Brad Miller took an open three-pointer...and missed.

Horford protected the defensive rebound, Bibby received the ball and controlled the pace, but Pierce quickly ran to the frontcourt to ask for the ball.

Bibby saw Pierce's impatience, but he could understand it. The score difference had been so big, and the opponent's main players came back one after another. They finally made a small climax to narrow the score difference to 5 points. The opponent's three-pointer missed, and Pierce must be eager to narrow the score difference to within 5 points.

He felt that Pierce's idea was correct. They should take advantage of the momentum and narrow the score gap as much as possible. If they could overtake the score before the end of the first half, they might have the advantage in the second half.

Also...the bad boy on the opposite side made decisions too decisively. If he thought there was an opportunity, he would shoot. If he thought there was no opportunity, he would pass the ball immediately. This put too much pressure on the three brothers.

The thought flashed through his mind as Bibby advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Pierce who had just scored 4 points in a row.

He received the ball with one step inside the three-point line, singled out Hill, faked a breakthrough and stepped back, then retreated outside the three-point line... He couldn't shake Hill off!

Hill's defensive judgment was excellent, and he followed Pierce's steps as soon as he received the ball and stepped back!
The arrow was on the string, Pierce faced Hill's interference and took a three-point shot... and missed!
Horford tried to grab the ball actively but to no avail. Okafor protected the defensive rebound, but this also gave the Hawks the opportunity to block Zhang Yang and prevent him from making a quick move.

Falling into a positional battle, Zhang Yang no longer tried his touch. The opponent would not give him this opportunity. He directly started to move and look for shooting opportunities with the help of screens.

The Eagles did a good job of chasing and defending, but Brad Miller still found an opportunity...

While running, Zhang Yang saw an opportunity to run back and catch the ball, so he decisively turned back and sprinted to the left corner, where Brad Miller's pass arrived!
Horford, who switched defense, rushed to Zhang Yang immediately, but it was too late.

Zhang Yang had already lifted the ball and jumped up, facing Horford's defense and shooting a three-pointer...hit!
What do you want to try? Just do it!
After scoring the goal, Zhang Yang excitedly rushed to the center circle and celebrated by high-fiving Brad Miller who was retreating.

He is worthy of being a passing master who played for the Kings for several years. He dares to make such a predictive pass!
If Zhang San had hesitated for a moment, or hadn't noticed the gap, the shot would have been an Odom-style mistake.

However, he also felt Brad Miller's trust in his positioning awareness and ability to seize opportunities!

Hey, wait, does this mean that Odom made a lot of mistakes because he felt those were real opportunities?

Carlisle was also very excited at this moment. His little plan was successful. What he was waiting for was the other side's impatience!

The climax was 12 to 7, and these bad boys could easily catch up by seizing the opportunity!

58 to 64, the score difference that was finally narrowed to 5 points was widened to 8 points again. Pierce was very upset. It was his fault, but he was not defeated. When the Hawks attacked, he continued to receive the ball, and this time he chose to break through and pass the ball.

Pachulia was left open, received the ball and took a long two-point shot...and it went in!
When it was the Bobcats' turn to attack, the Hawks defended Zhang Yang more strictly, but the other players of the Bobcats had the offensive space to easily create shooting opportunities in the middle and late stages of the first quarter. After Felton passed the ball, he slipped to the baseline, came to the left side of the three-second zone, received the ball and made a close-range jump shot... and it hit!
Led by Pierce, the Hawks once again launched a fierce attack against the Bobcats, and the two teams were evenly matched in the next few rounds.

At 11 minutes and 41 seconds, Bibby, who had "disappeared for a long time" on the offensive end, suddenly "appeared", broke through to the right side of the three-second zone with the help of a screen, and made a quick stop jump shot, chasing the score to 66 to 73, narrowing the gap to 7 points!
This score difference was acceptable to the Hawks. Although they failed to narrow the score difference substantially, they at least did not allow the opponent to continue to expand their advantage in the second quarter, but instead narrowed the gap by 1 point.

Offense and defense transition, the last attack of the first half, the Bobcats attacked.

Felton passed the ball to Zhang Yang after crossing half court and ran straight to the left sideline. Brad Miller went to the left baseline, Okafor went to the right side of the basket, Hill went to the long two-point area on the right, and Zhang Yang advanced to the top of the arc, protecting the ball and wasting time.

Pierce carefully guarded the top arc and did not rush forward to press. The kid on the opposite side was too sharp and reacted very quickly. If he showed a flaw, he would be easily passed by.

The two looked at each other for a few seconds. With 8 seconds left in the first half, Zhang Yang moved, using the butterfly step to pull the ball!

The fans at the scene cheered excitedly when they saw this scene, but Pierce was furious. This bastard actually played such a trick in front of him! He immediately pressed forward to confront him.

Zhang Yang's left hand pulled the ball faster and he took the initiative to meet the pressing Pierce. He turned the ball into a behind-the-back dribble, took a step sideways, passed Pierce and broke through the three-point line!
After missing the shot, Pierce immediately turned around and chased after him. He saw Zhang Yang making a quick stop jump shot just inside the three-point line. He jumped up to block the shot and slapped Zhang Yang on the right arm, but Zhang Yang had already shot the ball!

The referee blew the whistle and the ball went straight into the frame.

2+1!

(End of this chapter)